People skills: everything you need to know to grow a business successfully

Founder2Founders featuring Jo Royce, Head of Culture, Capabilities and 2Y3X?at AVA (Agency Ventures Aggregator)

What do you need to know to grow a business successfully? The Founder2Founders series asks successful leaders to share their lessons and experience.

Jo Royce is an expert in people. As well as having led digital agencies Glue Isobar (Dentsu Aegis) and Possible (WPP), she has held senior roles developing people strategy at Google and Unilever. Today, she is Head of People, Culture and Capabilities and 2Y3X at agency aggregator AVA.

2Y3X: Think back to the start of your career; what’s the most important thing you wish you had known about managing people?

Jo: Something so simple, which took me a while to really realise and consistently put into practice, is that, as a leader, you have to try to really understand people as individuals rather than applying blanket management techniques.

We all come with our quirks and idiosyncrasies, and the more we can develop good working relationships with people and operate less ‘management down,’ the better. It’s more motivating, authentic and ultimately effective.

Don’t put people - employees or clients - into boxes. It can be particularly tempting in bigger organisations, where there are a lot of silos, functions, roles and levels. But the more you 'only' regard people in organisations at their level/ function/unit/ role, the less helpful it is to genuine progress and personal development.?

2Y3X: What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made in your career??

Obviously, so many mistakes! Certainly, in terms of career development, I made a couple of career moves that looked amazing, but I knew in my gut they weren't quite right. On both occasions, the culture was wrong – something that can be quite effectively hidden in the recruitment process. Make decisions based on data - consider both EQ (emotional quotient/intelligence) and IQ. Never be distracted by shiny new things without really knowing what you want first.

2Y3X: What’s the biggest mistake you see others make??

Jo: I’ve seen many founders forget that everyone counts in the acquisition process. Forgetting about the wider team and how such decisions impact everyone - and should benefit everyone. It can lead to selfish and short-term moves that are not ultimately going to support and scale the business.?

2Y3X: Is there a unique process you’ve devised to make your job easier?

Jo: If you have one, let me know?!?One of the interesting challenges for creative people, who aren’t primarily driven by order and process, is that a lot of time management advice doesn’t play to the way we think - you lose us at ‘checklist’.?

For me, time management starts with the diary and working out when I can create extra time. If I have a lot of thinking and writing, I get up before everyone else. I also make sure I maximise my energy and headspace throughout the day. I know that I can’t sit and type for eight hours straight, so factor in variety.?

2Y3X: What one piece of advice would you give to new founders?

Jo: It’s a bit cliched, but I’d say it can be incredibly lonely. All of the pressure is on you (your own expectations and those of others). Ensure you have a network of people you can trust to crystallise your thinking.

In addition to this, everyone should have a coach – even better, a mentor or sponsor. This should be someone you don’t know with whom you can share your professional challenges and dreams in a structured way. For me, coaching was a lifesaver in that respect (especially working agency-side).

2Y3X: The dual phenomena of The Big Quit and Quiet Quitting have made employee retention a major issue for agencies right now. Any advice??

Jo: This has been happening for a long time but now has a label (or labels) that validates what employees are feeling.??If there’s a work environment of poor psychological safety, poor communication or fragile relationships with leaders, it’s a lot easier for people to look for something new rather than challenge existing barriers.?

Now add in the hybrid working context. If employees feel their needs aren’t getting met, they have no one to whom they can take their questions, let alone their challenges.?

It’s easy for people to disengage with their boss if they feel they’re not being heard or there’s no real connection. Fixing that through a small screen is super hard, particularly if you’ve never had face-to-face moments like long nights of pitching or the joy of winning (for example).?

However, there are techniques for driving those connections even when working remotely.?People managers must be adaptive to individual needs. The blanket – how’s everyone feeling? – morning check-in will work really well for some but will be horrible for others.?

It’s about understanding where individuals sit on the spectrum of communication styles: are they primarily introverted or extroverted??How do they get their energy from work? Do they actually want to connect with people every day and talk about themselves in a personal context, or do they just want to get quiet feedback and know they’re doing a great job? Managers can lead this simply by asking people how they want to check-in.

2Y3X: How can employers help their staff deal with cost of living problems?

Jo: For a long time, agencies have been pretty successful using flexible employment models. These include short notice periods, long probation periods, fixed term contracts and portfolio roles.?

Now, however, founders need to understand each employee’s reality and ensure they are getting a wage that enables them to live.?The basics of life have to be met.?When budgets are stretched, it's useful to look at benefits: some perks are great for some but useless for others. What if someone doesn’t need health insurance but needs a bump in salary?

Want to know more?

Take the 2Y3X?four-minute self-assessment scorecard to highlight your strengths and critical weaknesses. It identifies quick wins and shows you where to remove roadblocks as you prepare to scale.

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